Explore Southern Delaware

Explore Delaware

Georgetown

Georgetown is somewhat unique among Delaware municipalities in that the center of the town is built around a circle, instead of the more traditional parklike square. Straddling “The Circle”, as it is unsurprisingly called, is the Town Hall; state and county buildings, including the historic Sussex County Courthouse, lawyers’ offices; and banks. This layout is similar to that found in Annapolis, Maryland, except that, unlike in Annapolis, where the State House is the focal point of the circle, the center of Georgetown’s circle is a small park with a fountain. Georgetown’s oldest church, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church dates to 1794.

Every two years, Georgetown hosts an unusual event known as “Return day”, a half-day-long parade and festival two days after Election Day. Stemming from the colonial days in which the public would congregate in Georgetown two days after the election to hear the results (because it would take that long to deliver the results to the courthouse by horseback), the winners of that year’s political races parade around The Circle in carriages with the losers and the chairs of the county’s political parties ceremonially “bury the hatchet” in a tub of sand. The event is marked by a traditional oyster feast, much revelry, and, of course, the beginning of the next round of campaigns.